South Sudan, Uganda blame each other after border incident
Members of the South Sudanese Defense Force during training near Juba, April 26, 2019. REUTERS / Andreea Campeanu
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2 min
A border incident between South Sudan and Uganda on Thursday sparked clashes between the armies of the two countries.
According to Juba, four soldiers, two from each country, were killed.
A South Sudanese soldier was reportedly taken prisoner.
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With our correspondent in Nairobi,
Sébastien Nemeth
South Sudanese and Ugandans point fingers at each other, while seeking a compromise.
Juba claims that on October 29, at around 1 p.m., a heavily armed Ugandan unit crossed the border illegally at Pogee, in the southeast of the country.
According to an army spokesperson, a South Sudanese soldier went to see what was happening.
He would have come under fire before being captured by the UPDF (Uganda People's Defense Force).
“
Our men then went as reinforcements and they were ambushed.
After retreating, our forces regained control of the area,
”said Major-General Lul Ruai Koang, spokesperson for the South Sudanese army.
On the Ugandan side, the version is quite different.
Kampala accuses the South Sudanese of entering Uganda and harassing the local population over a motorcycle.
"
The population called us and when our soldiers arrived, the others immediately fired,
" said Flavia Byekwaso, spokesperson for the UPDF.
By the way, she does not recognize any loss on the Ugandan side, while evoking a possible misunderstanding.
A dialogue is underway between Juba and Kampala, in particular to recover the prisoner and the remains.
In fact, the UPDF allegedly took the bodies of South Sudanese soldiers to their barracks in Gulu, about a hundred kilometers from the border.
According to Major-General Lul Ruai Koang, the Ugandans were due to return the bodies this morning.
He felt that relations remained cordial between the two neighbors, but that it was necessary to clearly demarcate the border to avoid further incidents.
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